Railway switch joint



March 26, 1946. w. G. MORRIS RAILWAY SWITCH JOINT Filed July 6, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l' zo William (Mor-z' w. G. MORRIS 2,397,427

RAILWAY SWITCH JOINT Filed July 6, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lmm 9 f-"az l Il lll vim L15 `\\17 "21 16 .Zf;g.4. zall .March 26, 1946.

Patented Mar. 26, 1946 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY SWITCH JOINT William G. Morris, Statesvllle, N. C.

Application July 6, 1944, Serial No. 543,665

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a railway switch and more particularly t improve means for connecting a switch point tie bar to an operating member.

In the type of switch rod and tie bar connections currently in use only one bolt connection is provided. I'he weakest point in such a connection is at the bolt. When heavy trains pass over the switch at a high rate of speed the pressure on a single bolt connection is very great and subjects the bolt to severe strains and excessive wear. Should the bolt break or become otherwise defective, the switch points are free to move back and forth between the rails due to the vibration of the train passing over the switch. This will cause derailment of the train with probable loss of iiife and serious damage to freight and equip-l ment. Block signals and automatic train control devices are valueless in a case of this kind. It

-has also been observed that ina one bolt connection between the switch rod and tie bar, the movement of the switch and the excessive pressure and jolts to which the parts are subjected tend to form an oblong hole in the switch point tie bar which causes the switch to get out of adjustment and thus produce an improper fitting of the switch points with the rails.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide safe, eilicient and durable means for overcoming the deflciencies found to exist in a single bolt connection, and which eliminates the inherent danger to life and damage to equipment that is constantly present in a single bolt connection. I'his improved means consists in providing a two bolt connection between the switch rod and the tie bar, so that in the event one of the bolts should break or become defective, the other bolt will function to firmly hold the switch points properly in place until the broken bolt is discovered and replaced. In order to allow for a slight pivotal or movable connection, a bolt' hole in one of the connected members is of substantially oval shape While the remaining bolt Figure 3 is a detail plan view of the tie bar;

Figure 4 is a side view of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a plan view of the operating or connecting rod;

Figure 6 is a side view of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is anV enlarged detail sectional view showing the two bolt connection of the switch rod with the tie bar;

Figure 8 is a detail plan view of a modiiied form Vof the invention showing a spring switch interposed between the switch rod and the tie bar.

Referring to the drawings, Il designates the main track rails, ll the rails of a switch track and I2 the switch points movable to control the connection to the main line or to a siding. The rails are supported on the spaced ties Il and a pair of these ties preferably have laterally extending portions I4 projecting frombne side oi' the rails. A transversely disposed movable switch point tie bar l5 extends' beneath the rails and between the portions Il, and has secured thereto spaced rails plates or straps I8 by the bolts I1 (Fig. 2), each of these plates is formed with a raised or oilset arm Il spaced from the tie bar to receive a member Il that is secured between the arm I8 and the tie rod by the threaded bolt 20 which extends through aligned openings 2l and is secured in position by the nut 22. The outer end of each of the members l! is provided with a vertical arm 23 suitably secured to an adjacent switch point i2 by the transverse bolts 24, so that the switch points are firmly connected to the tie bar for controlling the switch connection of the main line with the siding. The outer ends of the tie bar I5 are preferably formed with a pair of vertical openings or bolt holes 25 and 26. As shown, the inner openings 25 are circular while the outer openings are of substantially oval or elliptical shape for a purpose which willsubsequently be described.

The tie bar l5 may be ilat and is connected at one end to an operating member such as the switch rod 21 which preferably is provided with a bifurcated or forked end 28 having spaced circular openings 29 and 30 in the arms thereof for receiving one end of the tie bar I5. The openings 29 and 30 register with the openings 25 and 2l and threaded bolts 3l and 32 extend through these openings so as to secure the tie bar to the switch rod upon the application of nuts 48 to the bolts 3i and 32. The opposite end of the switch rod 21 is operatively connected as at il to a gear assembly Il mounted in the switch stand 3i which is secured to the extending portions I4 oi' the ties i3 by the bolts 38. A manually operable switch lever 31 is operatively connected as at 33 to the gear assembly so that upon swinging the lever 31 from the position shown in full line in Figure l to that shown in dotted lines. the parts are actuated to push the tie bar longitudinally away from the switch stand, and this movement in turn moves the switch points from the closed main line connection, to open the main line and connect the rails of the switch track with the .main line so that the train will move on to a siding or branch line. The lever or throw arm 41 may be releasably maintained in its two extreme positions by any suitable locking mechanismnot shown.

In order to assure a safe connection between the tiebar l5 and the switch rod 21 these parts are fastened by a two bolt connection 3| and 32. To allow for a slight pivotal movement in this connection the opening 26 in the tie bar I5 is preferably of oval shape (Fig. 7), with its major axis extending transversely of the tie bar and its minor axis of substantially the same diameter as the bolt 32. The other bolt .holes are circular and of substantially the same diameter so that when the Darts are connected by the bolts 3| and 32 the opening 26 will allow a slight lateral movement to be imparted to the tie bar l5 relative to the rod 21. In other words, the elongated curved opening 26 is such as to take care of side motion oi' the switch rod 21 when using as a radius the center of the opening 25. If due to excessive pressure and strain to which the connection is subjected under ordinary usage, the bolt 3| should break or become otherwise defective, the pivotal connection of the tie bar with the switch rod would still be maintained through the bolt 32, so as to hold the switch points |2 in their proper position until the broken bolt is discovered and replaced. Thus, by reason of this two bolt connection, simpley emcient, and economical safety ,means are providedfor insuring the operation of the switch and which also acts to prevent excessive wear.

While the oval shaped opening 26 is shown formed in the outer end of the tie bar I5 any one of the circular other openings 25, 29 and 30 could be of oval shape instead of the opening 26, so as to permit a slight pivotal movement between the' connection of the tie bar and the switch rod without aiecting'the efficient operation of the "parts, The -bifurcated or forked end 2B of the switch lrod 21 'is' of such a length as to overlap the 'openings 25 and 26 in the tie bar. As the circular -opening 29 registers with the oval opening 26 `to the switch rod 21 when one end thereof becomes worn and thus the life and durability of the tie bar is materially extended.

In the modification shown in Figure 8 a spring switch is interposed between the tie bar l5 and the switch rod 21 and preferably is in the form of a cylinder 4| having at one end a reduced threaded boss 42 to which the rod 21 is connected. A piston 43 movable in the cylinder 4| has a stem 44 extending outwardly through the opposite end of'the cylinder and provided with forked arms 45-` having spaced circular openings 46 which register with the openings 25 and 26 of the tie bar l5 so as to be secured thereto by the spaced bolts 41 and nuts 49. A coil spring 50 is conned within the cylinder 4| between the piston 43 and the oppositewall of the cylinder. for returning the piston to lts normal position. This spring switch mechanism may be easily substituted for the connection shown in Figure 1 so as to automatically move the switch points when the main line is closed and a train on the siding I lis backed on the main line. In other words, the spring switch allows a train on the siding to be moved on the main track without the necessity of operating the connecting rod. When the connection rod and its associated parts are moved to open the main line after a train has passed to the siding, it will usually be returned to close the main line, and if for any reason the train on the Vdone by the automatic operation voi the spring switch.

Thus, it will be seen that by reason of the two bolt connection between the tie bar and the switch rod the objectionable and dangerous features of a single bolt connection are overcome, since should one of the retaining -bolts be broken, the other bolt will function to'insure proper operation of the switch until the defective bolt is discovered and replaced.

It will be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described are merely illustrative or preferred embodiments and that such changes may be made as fall within the purview of one skilled in the art without dgparting from the spirit of the invention and the Ascope of the following claim.

I claim:

In a railway switch operating mechanism, a pivotal connection for connecting a tie bar memberv to a, switch rod member, one of the members having an integral bifurcated end forming rigid arms, said arms having longitudinally spaced pairs of openings registering with a pair of longitudinally spaced openings in the other of said members, one of the openings in the said other member being elongated transverselyl about the axis of the adjacent, opening'in said last mentioned member, said elongated opening being of limited extent to allow a slight pivotal movement between said members, the other openings in the members being circular and of substantially the same diameter, and retaining bolts extending through the registering openings in said members and substantially lling the circular openings, the bifurcated end portion overlapping the elongated opening in the other member to prevent foreign matter from collecting in the elongated opening, the parts being constructed and arranged to provide a two bolt connection `between said members so that in the event one o f the bolts should break, the other bolt will maintain the pivotal connection between said members and thereby prevent the switch from being inadvertently moved.

WILLIAM G. MORRIS. 

